"Jerry, a rule is a rule. And let's face it, without rules...there's chaos." --Cosmo Kramer
The Division I Legislative Council sustained its approval of proposals adding sand volleyball to the emerging sports list and adding a week to the beginning of the baseball season. Unless the Board of Directors takes different action at its August 6 meeting, the Division I membership will vote on the proposals at the 2010 NCAA Convention in Atlanta.
Details are on the NCAA website.
It's the end of July, so that means it's time for a new edition of the Pac-10 Handbook.
The big change this year is that we've switched completely from atoms to bits: we're distributing the Handbook electronically only. So visit our Pac-10 Handbook page, download your copy, and print it out (if need be).
The Handbook is a PDF file, and that makes it easy to distribute, search through, copy from, and browse (thanks to the built-in bookmarks). You can put a copy on your laptop and haul it around without the extra weight. And it also fits nicely on pocket devices such as an iPhone using software like Air Sharing, among others.
But there is one more thing....
Every year, athletics personnel up and down the west coast (who knows, maybe even nationally) wait with breathless anticipation to see what color the Handbook cover would be.
"Will it (finally) be in our school's color this year? I hope it's not in neon again."
But if there is no more hard-copy version of the Handbook, what does that mean for the cover color choice?
If, like us, you plan to print out the Handbook and stick it in a binder with a clear pocket over the front cover, then you can download the standard cover or the alternate cover from the Handbook page.
Four items of interest from the NCAA staff, the last one being the most interesting of the bunch:
• Four-Year College Basketball Prospective Student-Athlete Participating in Voluntary Summer Workouts Conducted by Strength and Conditioning Coach (I)
The academic and membership affairs staff determined that, in basketball, it is permissible for a four-year college transfer prospective student-athlete to participate in voluntary summer workouts conducted by an institution's strength and conditioning coach, provided the prospective student-athlete has signed the institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid. [Reference: NCAA Bylaw 13.11.3.9 (voluntary summer conditioning-basketball)] [Published 7/13/2009]
• Early Qualifier Added to Squad List after Deadline for Submission of Final Transcript (I)
The academic and membership affairs staff determined that if a student-athlete who is certified as a qualifier pursuant to the early academic certification exception is added to an institution's squad list for the first time after the deadline for submission of his or her final transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Center (i.e., February 1 of the same academic year if enrollment occurs in the first term or February 1 of the following academic year if enrollment occurs after the first term), the institution shall ensure submission of his or her final high school transcript (official or unofficial) to the Eligibility Center by February 1 of the next academic year. [Reference: NCAA Bylaw 14.3.1.1.1.1 (submission of final transcript)] [Published 7/13/2009]
• Publishing Results of a High School Athletics Event Held on Institution's Campus (I)
The academic and membership affairs staff determined that it is permissible for a member institution to post the results of a high school athletics event held on a member institution's campus on its institutional Web site or use other media outlets normally used by the institution to publish such results. The staff noted an institution must post complete event results and may not highlight the results of, or provide any commentary on the performance of specific participants and/or teams. [References: NCAA Division I Bylaws 13.10.5 (prospective student-athlete's visit), 13.11.1.4 (competition in conjunction with a high school, preparatory school or two-year college), 13.11.3.4 (high school, preparatory school and two-year college contests) and 13.15.1.5 (high school contest in conjunction with college competition); and staff interpretations (5/28/09, Item Nos. a and b)] [Published 7/17/2009]
• Member Institution Arranging for Media Interviews With Prospective Student-Athletes Participating in Voluntary Summer Workouts Conducted by Strength and Conditioning Coach (I)
The academic and membership affairs staff determined it is permissible for a member institution to arrange for media outlets to conduct interviews with a prospective student-athlete during the summer prior to initial full-time enrollment, provided the prospective student-athlete is on campus and permitted to participate in voluntary summer workouts conducted by an institution's strength and conditioning coach. [References: NCAA Division I Bylaws 13.10.5 (prospective student-athlete's visit), 13.11.3.8 (voluntary summer conditioning -- football), 13.11.3.9 (voluntary summer conditioning -- basketball), 15.2.8.1.4 (prior to initial, full-time enrollment at the certifying institution -- athletics aid)] [Published July 17. 2009]
The new system for tracking the APR of head coaches in selected sports goes live next week. The NCAA has posted a FAQ and instructions.
The Legislative Council will hold a conference call on July 30, primarily to review its positions on Proposal 2008-046 (pertaining to the start of the traditional baseball playing season segment), and Proposal 2008-059 (which would establish sand volleyball as an emerging sport for women). The membership submitted enough override requests to trigger the review. You can pick up a copy of the meeting agenda.
The override period has closed and just two proposals garnered more than 30 override requests--56 for Proposal 2008-046 (pertaining to the start of the traditional baseball playing season segment), and 63 for Proposal 2008-059 (which would establish sand volleyball as an emerging sport for women).
So a review of those two by the Legislative Council has been triggered, and we've already run through those details.
The outcome of the remainder of the proposals stands. Here's the scorecard:
Adopted Proposals 2008-012*, 2008-013-B*, 2008-015-B*, 2008-020-A, 2008-025-D, 2008-029*, 2008-034, 2008-043, 2008-052*, 2008-054, 2008-055-A, 2008-057*, 2008-062, 2008-067*, 2008-068-B, 2008-075 + 2008-075-1, 2008-077 + 2008-077-1, 2008-079 + 2008-079-1, 2009-001*, 2009-002*, 2009-003*, 2009-004*, 2009-005*, and 2009-006*.
Defeated Proposals 2008-019, 2008-020-B (moot), 2008-032-B, 2008-045, 2008-048, and 2008-051.
Asterisked proposals are effective immediately.
July basketball recruiting has begun and that means there are dead periods on the horizon. We have reminders for both men's basketball and women's basketball.
Just in time for the holiday weekend, the staff has checked in with these:
Eligibility for Institutional Athletically Related Financial Aid -- Student-Athlete Returns to Original Institution (I)
Date Published: July 1, 2009
The academic and membership affairs staff determined that a transfer student from a four-year institution who is returning to his or her original institution must have been eligible to compete in the next regular academic term had the student remained at the previous institution in order to receive athletically related financial aid during the first academic year of his or her return to the original institution. [References: Bylaws 14.5.5.4 (eligibility for institutional athletically related financial aid) and 15.01.5 (eligibility of student-athletes for institutional financial aid)]
Basketball Off-Campus Recruiting -- July Evaluation Periods (I)
Date Published: July 1, 2009
The academic and membership affairs staff determined that, in basketball, during the July evaluation periods, an institution may use either the general rule regarding the limit on the number of coaches who may recruit off campus at any one time (i.e., a replaced coach may not engage in additional recruiting activities until after he or she has returned to the institution's campus) or the exception to the general rule (i.e., a replaced coach is not required to return to the institution's campus before engaging in additional recruiting activities, provided no more than three coaches engage in off-campus recruiting activities each day). [References: NCAA Bylaws 11.7.4.3 (off-campus recruiting -- at any one time) and 11.7.4.3.1 (exception -- basketball -- July evaluation periods)]
LSBDi's announcements page now lists editorial revisions to the Manual due to the work of a diligent NCAA staff member or two (and you know who you are and thank you very much for that). Our Manual Updates page is now fully up to date.
